Most families have one or more small pets. In today's very mobile society, it is desirable to take all of the family members, including the pets, on trips whether by bus, train, car or airplane. Pets must be contained during travel for both their safety and the safety of others. In motor vehicles, it is rapidly being recognized that animals need some sort of restraint or containment to protect them during rapid stops or crashes.
In airline travel, all but the very smallest of animals are transported in pet carriers or cages of some sort, often in the freight compartment. These carriers or cages may be rented from the transporter or provided by the pet owner. Certainly, rented carriers are expensive and not as familiar to the pet. Purchased pet carriers are often bulky, heavy and inconvenient to store due to their size. Temporary housing for the storage or transporting of animals is often carried out in containers or cages that take up the same amount of space when occupied as well they are not in use.
A variety of pet carriers have been reported in the prior art, all aimed in one form or another to facilitate pet transportation. Specifically, pet carriers are commonly used by pet owners for carrying their pets on trips or as a means for containing the pets when the pets are shipped from one point to another. Pet carriers also commonly double as sleep quarters for the pet so that the owner may contain the pet overnight to prevent the pet from wandering and potentially damaging the home or hotel room which the owner is occupying.
A number of United States Patents are directed at “collapsible” pet carriers which have soft sides and windows that are formed of a mesh to allow ventilation. U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,036 B2 to Designer Products, Inc. is illustrative of this type of patent. This type of soft carrier is not particularly sturdy, say for use with heavier animals, contains numerous zippers capable of getting caught in the animal's fur and does not allow good visibility so that the animal may see out.
Other patents include U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,568, entitled “Foldable/Collapsible Structure”, assigned to T. F. H. Publications, Inc., which is directed at a collapsible/foldable structure, and more particularly, to a light-weight animal shelter that can be readily converted into a compact condition for ease of storage and/or transport, and also presents itself as an attractive or classic looking dog house design when fully assembled. Attention is also directed to U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,534, also assigned to T. F. H. Publications, Inc., entitled “Pet Carrier”, which is directed to pet carrier transportation device and in particular to a collapsible/foldable pet carrier or portable structure that collapses into a substantially flat configuration for ease of storage when not in use, therein providing a lightweight and portable pet carrier which provides both comfort and good hygiene for the pet, and also provides a safe/sturdy structure for protection during transport.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,591 B1 to Amerlon, Inc., entitled “Animal Carrier” is directed at a portable pet carrier having top and bottom platforms as well as front and rear and left and right side pivotably collapsible walls and retaining members. U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,331 provides another example of an apparatus for carrying pets.
Another example of a collapsible pet carriers is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,818 to Wilson. The Wilson device includes a pair of vertical sidewalls that collapse and a hinged roof that collapses over the sidewalls, retaining the sidewalls between the floor and the roof when the device is in a collapsed position.
Yet another known device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,540 to Yamamoto. The Yamamoto device includes inwardly collapsing walls, a top with four vertical sidewalls and a bottom with four vertical sidewalls. The ends and the collapsing walls nest within the vertical sidewalls of the top and bottom when the device is in a collapsed configuration.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,590,885; 4,484,540; 4,527,512; 5,010,848 and 3,896,766 provide additional examples of collapsible pet cages or carriers that are assemblies of hinged fold-up panels.
As one can see from the above art, although certain pet carrier designs have been disclosed which are collapsible, these designs typically contain multiple hinged sections which must fold or stack to reduce volume and become more compact. While successful in their own right, there continues to be a need for even simpler and more lightweight and portable pet carriers which similarly provide comfort for the pet as well as a safe, sturdy structure for protection during transport.
Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to provide a pet carrier which is lightweight, easy to collapse and expand and which takes up minimal space in a collapsed, ready for storage condition.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a pet carrier which can be easily carried when it is not transporting a pet.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a pet carrier that is simple, aesthetically pleasing and quick to collapse into a storage or transport condition.
It should also be understood that while the above and other advantages and results of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, showing the contemplated novel construction, combinations and elements as herein described, and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it should be clearly understood that changes in the precise embodiments of the herein disclosed invention are meant to be included within the scope of the claims, except insofar as they may be precluded by the prior art.